I'd like a card that allows me to move to another mobo if I upgrade. I have 775 LGA hardware right now. I got the mobo in a trade and don't want to buy another older architecture mobo, really.

I read that the Antec 300 can take longer cards but then I have to plan out the build more... like no hard drive cages in the way of the card etc.

I'd get a 5850 if I felt the Linux side was improving enough. Some say it is; others say sufficient improvement is way off. Also, I'm not budgeting a $300 card (I understand those cards are dropping in price a bit, though).

I'm still buying a cpu for the current desktop (switching the Quad Core to the P45 machine) and maybe a HDD dedicated to Windows storage. This budget includes one 120mm case fan and maybe a stick of 2GB RAM so I can move the 4GB to the P45 machine. :)

Deciding on video cards is a pain when you use two (different) operating systems and I'm already indecisive to begin with. I need a better income!